Naviter Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 25.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,601 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EQR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,395,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,369,707,000 after buying an additional 372,181 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,143,388,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,598,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $709,349,000 after buying an additional 71,716 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $570,333,000 after acquiring an additional 516,941 shares during the period. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,527,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,058,000 after acquiring an additional 309,796 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,910.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,625 shares of company stock worth $913,158. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $68.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.87. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.93.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI downgraded Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.09.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.